We had some idea about the musical influence of Muscle Shoals and the FAME and Muscle Shoals Sound Studio but really didn’t fully understand it until we watched this documentary, which is really very good.
What are the odds of a studio in a town of about 10,000 people (in the 1960s) attracting bands like the Allman Brothers, Aretha Franklin, The Rolling Stones, Wilson Pickett and Lynyrd Skynyrd?
It’s a pretty amazing story and it wasn’t just the major acts. The studio musicians were really, really good. If you’ve ever heard the Staple Singers sing “I’ll Take You There,” when Mavis Staples mentions “little Davey,” he’s one of the Swampers, as they were called.